Sviatoslav


Sviatoslav

or

Svyatoslav

(both: svyä`təsləv), d. 972, duke of Kiev (945–72), son of IgorIgor
or Ihor
, d. 945, duke of Kiev (912–45), successor of Oleg as ruler of Kievan Rus. According to the Russian Primary Chronicle, a medieval history, Igor was the son of Rurik, founder of the Russian princely line.
..... Click the link for more information.  and of St. Olga. His mother acted as regent for him until c.962, when he came of age. During his reign, which was spent in conquests, he created an empire that stretched from the Volga to the Danube. By 965 he had defeated the Volga Bulgars and the Khazars, thus bringing under Kievan control the entire area of the Volga River. Then, as an ally of the Byzantine Empire, which was at war with the Bulgars, Sviatoslav defeated the Bulgars of the Danube (968) and further extended Kievan control in the Balkans. He was forced to give up the Balkan lands (971), however, in a war with the Byzantine emperor John I. On his way back to Kiev, Sviatoslav was slain by the PechenegsPechenegs
or Patzinaks
, nomadic people of the Turkic family. Their original home is not known, but in the 8th and 9th cent. they inhabited the region between the lower Volga and the Urals. Pushed west (c.
..... Click the link for more information.  (or Patzinaks).